Guardian: Pardew hopes for City off night

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is determined to lead his side to the last eight of the Capital One Cup tonight.

After their defeat to Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday afternoon, the Magpies, like City, see victory tonight as an opportunity to turn the negative headlines from the weekend around.

"They have a squad of 24 international players so we're coming up against 11 internationals even if it is a slightly weakened City team,” Pardew said.

"When they turn on their turbo chargers, with the players they've got, they're almost impossible to deal with. But they're vulnerable as well and particularly away from home results haven't been as good as they would like.

"That is some comfort for us, that we could catch them on an off night. If your desire to win something is stronger than the opposition, then it does give you a slight benefit. We'll be leaning on that for sure."

We’ll have our usual coverage of the game from St James' Park here on the site and across our social media channels this evening.

Elsewhere, Micah Richards has once again come out to remind journalists that he has no intention of leaving the club – not in January, this summer or for the next decade!

“I must admit that we have a tough battle ahead to reclaim the Premier League crown,” Toure told Goal.

“We must work extra hard as a team to compete with Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

“Liverpool are a big threat at the moment because they have a strong squad and their strikers – Luiz Suarez and Daniel Sturridge - are scoring goals at will.”

Tickets are still available for City v CSKA at the Etihad Stadium, which will go a long way to deciding the Sky Blues UCL group fate.

They are priced from £33 for Adults and £17.50 for Under 16s. Purchase online here, or call 0161 444 1894 option 1, option 1, option 2 (tickets purchased over the telephone are subject to a £2.50 booking fee per ticket), or visit the Ticket Office located on the first floor of the Etihad Stadium City Store.